In a boost to rural healthcare infrastructure, the Uttar Pradesh government has approved the construction of 44 new health sub-centres across Prayagraj district, with the projects set to enter the execution stage this month.The district administration has initiated the process for release of funds and floating construction tenders. Officials said land has already been identified for all the proposed facilities across different development blocks.The 44 sub-centres will be taken up in the first phase, while additional centres may be sanctioned in future based on population growth and local healthcare requirements.Prayagraj currently has 24 community health centres (CHCs), 84 primary health centres (PHCs) and 583 rural health sub-centres, many of which have been upgraded as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs under the Ayushman Bharat programme. Once the newly approved facilities become operational, the number of rural health sub-centres in the district will rise to 627.The new sub-centres will provide outpatient consultations, immunisation, antenatal and postnatal care, maternal and child health services, treatment of common ailments, basic diagnostic support and essential medicines. Officials said the facilities would improve access to primary healthcare in villages, reduce travel time for patients and ease the burden on CHCs and district hospitals.The state government has directed the district panchayat to release funds for the projects, and construction is expected to begin soon after the tendering process is completed.Confirming the development, District Panchayat chairperson VK Singh said the proposal had been pursued for a long time before receiving government approval. “Panchayat officials have been instructed to issue tenders without delay so that construction work can begin at the earliest,” he said.Officials said the expansion would strengthen the district’s rural public health network by improving last-mile delivery of healthcare services and supporting immunisation, disease surveillance, family welfare programmes and other national health initiatives in remote villages.